


Scar Tissue

by theywearpink



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Relationship, content warning: mentions of abuse and burns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 05:35:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28630383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theywearpink/pseuds/theywearpink
Summary: It's on a warm Ember Island night that Aang and Zuko finally talk about their scars.
Relationships: Aang/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 60





	Scar Tissue

The sand was damp and cool beneath his bare feet, a welcome relief from the heat still hanging in the air. Zuko stood on the shoreline and looked out at the vast expanse of ocean before him. The waves lapped at the beach, stopping just short of his toes before retreating. The moon was a sliver in the sky; thinner than a fire flake, yet strong enough to hold sway over the tide. Zuko thought of the push and pull of the sea under that distant moon, thought of two fish slowly circling each other in a dark pond.

He heard footsteps behind him, and a voice a moment later.

“There you are.” Aang smiled as he came to stand beside Zuko. “We were wondering where you’d gone off to.”

He was shirtless, Zuko noted, and smelled slightly of smoke. He must have been doing firebending drills again. He felt a small flicker of pride at how far Aang had progressed in a few short months, from being unwilling to firebend to practicing in every available moment of his spare time. There was a hard determination in Aang’s eyes that hadn’t been there before. Zuko knew the airbender must feel the weight of the War more than anybody.

“Sorry,” he said. “I needed some space to think, I guess.”

Aang didn’t press him on what he’d been thinking about, and he was grateful. He didn’t know if he could articulate the way he’d been feeling since returning to his old summer home. It was strange being back on Ember Island with his newfound friends. Everything felt different, as if the island itself had changed in the short time he’d been away. For so long it had been a place he’d remembered with bittersweet nostalgia, the sun-drenched days of his childhood flashing in fragments through his mind. When he’d come a few months ago with Mai and Azula and Ty Lee, the island had been a reminder of all the ways he would never belong in the Fire Nation. That visit felt like lifetimes ago now, and Zuko wasn’t sure what this place meant to him anymore.

“I just came to tell you dinner will be ready soon,” Aang said, drawing him out of his thoughts. “Sokka cooked up that sea slug he caught earlier today.” Aang pulled a face. “I think I’ll stick with the leftover cabbage from last night.”

He turned back towards the path leading to the beach house, and for a moment Zuko thought he was going to leave. But Aang simply looked up at their makeshift home. Light spilled from its windows, warm and inviting, and Zuko wondered why Aang stayed out here with him.

His gaze was drawn, as it always was, to his friend’s tattoos. He followed the line of Aang’s arrow down the back of his neck, between the planes of his shoulders, to the spot where it was broken abruptly by the scar that bloomed across his back. The skin there still looked red and raw; deep crimson like a blood stain. Zuko’s breath caught in his throat, and that all-too-familiar mix of guilt and shame coursed through him.

“You don’t have to keep blaming yourself, you know.” Aang had caught him staring.

Zuko shook his head. “I do.”

“I wish you wouldn’t,” Aang sighed. “This was Azula’s doing, not yours.”

They’d had this conversation before, but Zuko still couldn’t accept the forgiveness Aang offered him. It didn’t matter who had done it, the damage was still the same. And he had been the one fighting beside Azula. He had been the one who betrayed his Uncle and Aang when they needed him most.

“You almost _died_ , Aang.” In fact he _had_ died. Katara had told Zuko that much.

“But I’m still here, aren’t I?” Aang’s smile was wide and boyish. It sparked something warm inside Zuko’s chest, and he made sure to tamp the embers down before they grew into a flame.

It was silent for a while, save for the sound of the waves.

“What did it feel like?” Zuko asked, finally. He would never forget seeing that flash of light and watching as Aang tumbled down, down. Those few seconds had stretched for an eternity, while everything afterwards had been a rapid blur. The silent terror that had gripped him in that moment was something he had struggled to understand for weeks afterwards.

A frown creased the airbender’s forehead. He stared up at the sky, the moon reflected in his eyes. “It was cold. So cold,” he said. “Like someone had shot ice straight through me. For a second it was like I could feel every single part of my body all at once. And then I was just numb and everything went dark…I don’t remember what happened after that.” He pulled up his left foot to show Zuko the smaller scar there; an exit wound. “It really did go right through. I guess even the Avatar can’t contain that much raw energy at once.”

Zuko could only nod. He knew that Aang wouldn’t want him to apologise yet again, so he said the next best thing that came to mind. “I’m really glad you’re alright.”

“Me too.” Aang turned to him. His eyes traced over the details of Zuko’s face, and his next words were soft and cautious. “So…you never told us how you got your scar.”

The question caught Zuko off-guard. He’d never had to tell anyone before. Everyone in the Capital knew the story; it was the type of thing parents would recount to their children to warn them of the dangers of speaking out of turn. He’d been made an example of for his insolence, and he wore his shame as a permanent reminder on his face.

Aang took his hesitation for reluctance and shook his head apologetically. “Sorry, you don’t have to.”

“No…It’s okay.” Zuko took a breath. “It happened when I was thirteen. I disrespected the Fire Lord, and he decided to teach me a lesson.” He didn’t know if he’d ever be able to look at his reflection without thinking about that day, and that was exactly what his father had intended. He’d always been calculated in his cruelty. “I had the chance to be a man and face him in an Agni Kai. But I…I couldn’t do it; I couldn’t duel my father. So he gave me this as punishment.”

“You weren’t a man though,” Aang said fiercely. “You were just a boy.”

“Not to him. He expected more of me.”

Zuko hung his head. The ocean and the sand and Aang seemed to recede into the distance, and all he could hear was the chanting of the crowd in the Agni Kai chamber. His father’s face had been shrouded in shadow as he towered above him. Zuko had sensed the fire before he saw it, and he had felt every scorching lick of the flames across his skin. The searing heat had drowned out the sound of his own screams. 

He blinked, and he was back on the beach with Aang again. His scar ached slightly from the memory.

“I’m sorry, Zuko.” Aang said. “You should never have had to go through that.”

He swayed forward into Zuko’s space, reaching a tentative hand up to touch the skin beneath his left eye. His touch was feather-light, as if Aang himself was made of the air he so skilfully bended.

Zuko blinked again, slowly. He was certain Aang could feel the heat rapidly rising to his cheeks. “I can’t believe I spent so long wanting his forgiveness. I was so obsessed with my redemption, with my honour…I thought that if I captured you he would accept me again. Of course I was wrong. He never accepted me in the first place, and he never will.”

“You know that’s not your fault, don’t you?” Aang’s gaze sought out his. His expression was earnest. “The Fire Lord is a fool if he can’t appreciate you for the person that you are.”

“Thanks.” Zuko managed a smile.

Aang was standing so close that Zuko could feel his breath ghosting across his lips.

They had circled each other for so long, drawn inexorably together by their game of hide and seek. Aang running, Zuko chasing. But it was something else that drew him to Aang now. Something he couldn’t quite put into words, at least not yet. Zuko wasn’t in any rush, though. They had time.

He stepped back and started towards the house, his hand finding Aang’s wrist and pulling his friend along with him. “Come on. Let’s go inside.”

**Author's Note:**

> hoo boy, you don't even KNOW how long this has been sitting in my wip folder.  
> i wrote the fic itself months ago and didn't have the motivation to finish editing it until now. but it's finally DONE and i'm so stoked. hope you all enjoy :~)
> 
> p.s. this fic takes place in my favourite au, the 'everything is the same but aang and zuko are older' universe, obviously
> 
> p.p.s. there's this zukaang artwork that i've loved ever since i first saw it on tumblr and it pairs really nicely with my fic, so check it out because the artist deserves major kudos too. here ya go: likealittleheartbeat.tumblr.com/post/619308352138346496


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